Experienced Sarasota Attorney Facilitates Your Collaborative Divorce

Professional and respectful service yields positive results for Floridians

Collaborative divorce is a cooperative process that allows a couple to dissolve their marriage without the expense, stress, and uncertainty of litigation in family court. Tia E. Jensen, P.A. focuses on collaborative family law because the process of seeking a nonadversarial resolution to disputes is healthier for families, especially children who can be negatively impacted by their parents’ divorce. By working together to resolve your divorce issues, parties maintain greater control over the outcome of their case, and parents lay the groundwork for respectful co-parenting. In becoming a collaborative divorce attorney, I received special training in the process. I am also a Florida Supreme Court-certified mediator and a qualified parenting coordinator. I maintain low rates because I believe every family should have access to high-quality legal services. I invite you to take advantage of a free consultation to learn more about the collaborative divorce process.

Collaborating as a team to settle your divorce

Collaborative divorce is a team effort that helps you and your spouse to arrive at a fair agreement that is best for your family. Your team includes:

Your attorneys — Each spouse should be represented by a divorce lawyer.

A neutral financial advisor — A financial professional qualified to understand divorce law and the collaborative process is critical for analyzing complex assets, such as retirement funds, and alerting parties to possible tax consequences.

A neutral facilitator — Also called the “coach,” the facilitator is a licensed mental health professional trained in collaborative law. A coach can provide the support you and your children need with emotional issues, so you can get through the process and arrive at a settlement.

Having a “team” may sound expensive, but its focused services prevent you from wasting your attorney’s time with issues that are not legal. The team approach gives you more “bang for your buck” and keeps the process moving forward.

Being part of a team means being fully committed. In collaborative divorce, attorneys pledge not to litigate the case, so if either spouse backs out, they must start over with new counsel.

Advantages of collaborative divorce over litigation

To understand the benefits of collaborative divorce, it’s important to compare and contrast aspects of each process:

Control over the process — In litigation, the court’s rules of procedure constrain the process, and the judge rules on your issues. In collaborative divorce, you and your spouse control the process and determine the ultimate results.

Investment in time — In litigation, you are a hostage of the overcrowded court calendar, and the other party can use stall tactics as leverage. In collaborative divorce, the parties control the flow and are motivated to conclude the process efficiently.

Adversity — Litigation is designed to be adversarial, pitting one party against another. Collaborative divorce encourages cooperation and respect.

Cost of settling financials — In litigation, formal discovery with demands to produce documents wastes time. Your attorney must analyze your financials and each side hires its own financial expert. In collaborative divorce, parties disclose finances voluntarily and split the cost of hiring one financial advisor.

Cost of settling your parenting plan — The adversarial process can require a court investigation into a parent’s fitness, with costs for psychologists and social workers. Parties split the cost of the coach, a licensed mental health professional who can advise on what’s best for your children.

Cost of your attorneys — Litigation takes up an enormous amount of an attorney’s time, for which you are billed. The team approach to collaborative divorce ensures the attorney only deals with legal matters.

Emotional toll — The adversarial nature of litigation creates anger, uncertainty and anxiety. When you work productively in a collaborative setting, you have greater peace of mind.

Privacy — Litigation requires cases to be heard in open court, and for a court record to be created. In the collaborative process, meetings are private and confidential.

Who wins? — At trial, a judge has limited options under the law and makes a decision based on limited information. In a collaborative divorce, you’ve reached a decision both parties can live with, so in that sense, it’s a win/win.

Collaborative divorce is not appropriate for all couples. But if you and your spouse are able to communicate openly and honestly, the collaborative process can be a viable alternative to litigation.

Learn more about collaborative divorce in Sarasota

Collaborative divorce provides a nonadversarial process for spouses to dissolve their marriage. To learn how Tia E. Jensen, P.A. can guide you through the collaborative process, schedule a free consultation. Call today at 941-330-9600 or contact my Sarasota office online. My office is conveniently located in the Ringling Professional Center, 2831 Ringling Blvd.

Tia E. Jensen, P.A. is located in Sarasota, FL and serves clients in and around Sarasota, Longboat Key, Tallevast, Bradenton, Palmetto, Nokomis, Osprey, Manatee County and Sarasota County.

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